S - Loads of roasted/earthy malt. A good amount of dark chocolate/cocoa with some stale dark coffee. A bit of a fruitiness as it warms (both dark fruit and a sweet citrus). Some licorice as well. Not overly hoppy.

T - Again, not overly hoppy. A good amount of general roasted flavor. Fair amount of licorice and dark fruit that probably pairs and slightly hides the fruity hop flavors. Strong dark coffee and chocolate flavors with that roasted malt.

M - Medium body with average carbonation. Fairly smooth and creamy. Slight dryness on the finish but not too dry.

D - Easy to drink with a smooth body and flavors that compliment each other. Tasty but not overly tempting.

Notes: Decent Black Ale (not my favorite style). Not too hoppy but it seems to go along with the licorice/dark fruit. Light hoppy porter, roasty black ale, something in between; not sure what to classify it. Overall it's good but not great or worth the price. But the brewery name is fun, right? (1,106 characters)

Poured into a standard pint glass nearly pitch black except for a tinge of reddish brown,a one finger tan colored head atop.Earth and roast with some green leafy hop notes,not overly complex and on the dryer side.Flavors of roast and bitter unsweetened chocolate and charred fruit with low handed leafy hops in the finish.A lighter hopped ABA in my mind,a decent amount of char and pretty dry,pretty average for the style. (422 characters)

Chunky lace from the lumpy and frothy beige head. The broth is deep ruby brown where bright light will shine through the center of the glass.

This smells like a fudge brownie--sweet and rich with double dark chocolate. There's a bit of oatmeal to the nose as well.

More burnt malt than the nose suggests. Comes across like a cross between a dry porter and a stout. There's notable hop in the swallow. Short aftertaste because of the dryness of the liquid. Thin bodied in an appropriate way. The low carbonation helps. (520 characters)

Appearance: This is a dark beer. It is black and even when a light is held to it, not much gets through. The head pours softly, about half a heads worth. It lingers though, providing a "crema" like appearance throughout drinking.

Scent: ﻿Right up front a get quite a bit of rich chocolate and coffee. This is followed up by a hint of smokey ash. The hops come through a bit, but nothing too overpowering. Lots of roasted malt coming through. Definitely stands in the forefront.

Taste: ﻿Once again the roasted flavors come through strong. Definitely get a coffee taste with minimal chocolate. The hops come through a bit more on the palate, but really their contribution is in the bitterness, which there is plenty of on the finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied. The carbonation is well balanced, what you would come to expect from your average beer.

Overall: Before purchasing this I wasn't sure what style it was. Some legitimate sources called it a black IPA, some called it a Porter. Yeastie Boys' website officially calls it a Black IPA, while acknowledging the "Hoppy Porter" title as well. I would definitely describe it as the latter. The roasted barley is the strongest flavor in this beer. The hops are fairly mild. In my own experience I like the reverse for Black IPAs; Hops upfront and roasted barley as a support. Still a very enjoyable beer though. I'd mark it down as a hybrid between a Black IPA and a Porter. If a Black IPA is halfway between IPA and Porter than this is about 3/4 of the way, leaning towards the Porter end of the scale. (1,558 characters)

A: pours a nice deep black with a hint of dark brown around the edges when held to the light.... A semi gentle pour but not much head at all here... Maybe half a finger.... Dissapates quickly.... A few touches of lacing... But nothing impressive.

S: sort of dry musty aroma to me... Dry roasty chocolate with a touch earthy hop... Honestly I was expecting more hops in the aroma.... A bit of black licorice and a kiss of dark fruit ... As the beer warms the roasty character really comes out.

T: taste... Deffinatly steps it up from the aroma... Nice and roasty, with notes of chocolate and black licorice and coffee... Very tasty... Not much hops... But delicious overall.

This beer poured out as a nice looking black color with a large brown foamy head. The lacing was pretty good on this brew as well as the retention on it. The smell of the beer was hoppy and roasted. More along the lines of a porter in my opinion. The taste of the beer had a nice burn flavor to it as well as the hoppy crisp finish. The mouthfeel of it wasn't too bad, rather drinkable with a dry finish. Overall this was a pretty good brew I thought. Looking forward to having more from this brewery. (501 characters)

Smell: Faint roast, a little hint of green hops, but not much slipping out past this unyielding, headstrong head.

Taste: Dark, roasty maltiness with a sliver of chilled coffee and a faint dusting of cocoa. Modestly sweet. Lightly spiced. Hint of dark fruitiness, also some underlying earthiness. Touch of hops, bitterness. Sweetish and aggravatingly foamy on the finish.

Aromas are malty, vegetal, and creamy sweet. Smells pretty good, but not like the black IPA / hoppy porter this claims to be.

Taste is very roasty, nice dark burnt malt sweetness, hints of smoke, coffee, and a lightly bitter, with an earthy hoppiness on the finish. While the hoppiness wasn't very strong in the nose, it showed up nicely in the finish.

Mouthfeel is good, a touch thin though.

Overall a nice beer, that doesn't fit the style (Black IPA) as well to me. I like it, but this is much more like a hoppy porter than an American Black Ale. (614 characters)

O - different take on the style; not sure if the hops were faded or just very light to begin with but the flavors were actually pretty balaced; i enjoyed the nuttiness and creamy texture; the smell is weird though (652 characters)

Yeastie Boys has a certain ring to it that I can't resist. It must be the fact I used to listen to the Beastie Boys years back. I did not expect to find this when I was shopping at Palm springs Liquor in La Mesa, CA. So, from a 330 ml bottle, on to the beer:

There's a big billowy head sitting on top of this black beer. It does fade to a dark brownish color towards the smaller part of the chalice, so it's not black as black can be. Admirable head retention to this stuff, and it leaves glops of lacing around the glass. There's a little dose of roastiness, a touch of tangerine, and unfortunately some amount of a phenol problem (plastic band aids).

Damn you plastic band aids. You wreck what tastes like a good beer. A little chocolate brownie, a dose of sweet citrus, pine, lingering chocolate roast. Hmmm, even with an infection, this doesn't tastes horrible. Its medium body and smoothness seem to help too.

After smelling it, I though it would taste worse. Still, meh. Don't say you were warned American geeks. (1,023 characters)

This just arrived this past Friday. It pours a light to medium bodied chestnut brown in color with a beige lacing around the glass. The nose is really nice. It features soft and smooth light chocolate, coffee with cream, a mild malty sweetness with just a touch of hop bitterness. Very complex for the style. The flavors are dry and hoppy with a moderate amount of bitterness. It begins dry and finishes with a nice slightly sweet chocolate maltiness. It's very approachable and has great drinkability. I like it. It's worth a try. (531 characters)

A: The beer is very dark amber in color and poured with an off white head that didn’t last all that long.S: Light aromas of dark malts are present in the nose.T: The taste has flavors of roasted malts and is accompanied by a moderate amount of bitterness.M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation. The finish has some dryness.O: This beer tastes like a hybrid between an English IPA and an English Porter as it has a good balance of a light amount of bitterness and roasted flavors. (524 characters)

bottle from Premiere Gourmet. Roasty, but thought it was a shwartzbier, which it is posted correctly as I thought on our Dear BA. Satisfying though carbonation right there and not complex. Good drinkability, smooth, not an off-note. Black as night with a little mocha coloured head and lace. (291 characters)

A: Pours a dark brown, nearly black color. A two finger tan head forms with good retention. Lots of sticky lace is left behind.S: Kind of neutral in the nose. Some nondescript hops and nondescript malt. Kind of citrusy, kind of toasted. No real identity here.T: Grassy, citrusy hops up front. Kind of a slick/oily hop flavor. Toasted malt, bread, light chocolate come in next. Nothing lingers though.M/D: A medium body with good carbonation. Slick and oily, but not overly so. Easy enough to drink. I will finish the bottle without a problem.

Not bad at all. I am still not a big fan of this style. I don't think the hops and malt flavors mix well together, but for the style it fits t he bill. (698 characters)

T: Roasted malt with light touches of chocolate. Hops come through more as a bittering agent but still lend flavor. Slight booziness. Aftertaste is light maltiness.

M: Medium/light body. Contrasting sensations from the malt and hop components give at first a creamy feel that is then cut by mild bitterness of the hops, resulting in a final feel that is very clean and dry. Alcohol emparts another level to the mf.

O: A nice beer. When I read the label, I though I might not like this beer being a hoppy black ale. The flavors go together very nicely and are an excellent balance of malt and hop. I will drink this beer again. (907 characters)

Strong, smoky aroma has roast coffee, chocolate and licorice hints. It pours a deep sable with a thick, almost Guinness-like tan head that hangs around for a bit and leaves some decent lacing. Earthy flavor has notes of burnt wood, malt and licorice and just a hint of caramel. Smooth texture has above-average body and fizz, leaving a nice smoky tingle. I look forward to more brews from the Yeastie Boys. (406 characters)

bottle from a bottle shop in auckland.pours a nice black darkness with a bit of head and some decent lacing...Nose has a lot of smoke on it, and an odd vegetable smell. Hops are subdued, which may be the odd vegetable smell, more along the lines of a pea smell...Taste is not so good, i am looking for a date on this bottle, and it is one of the few i have seen that does not have a best by date... seems old. Hops are not really there, though they dont really taste stale either.... just seems like they are missing. possibly some english style hops in there, but the American Black Ale is wrong. A bit of coal, and some smoke on the palate as well, but the main thing this is supposed to have, it is completely lacking. mouthfeel is medium, well carbed, nice on all fronts but where it needs to be. Big failure, in my opinion. (832 characters)

Pours a nice deep-brown with dark-red tinge. Head is beige, lovely and dense but dissipates before too long, leaving gorgeous but sparse lace ring around the glass. Pretty damn fine.

Nose is predominantly roasty. Nice dark chocolate notes giving sweet and toasty in equal measure. Slight floral hop notes lend it a mild sour touch, and the back is all caramel grain. Very nice.

Taste starts out all hoppy, with enjoyable floral notes, touch of pine and mint. Lasts until the mid where the roasty grain takes hold and gives it a mildly sour cocoa throttle. Rich chocolatey notes on the finish for a decent roast that doesn't quite fill the palate with its goodness. The nice hops return on the very back with more of a fresh, lighter bitterness than one might have expected from the rest of the palate, but it leaves me wanting more of a robust portery finish. Still, the hoppy/roasty balance overall is definitely a winner.

A bit too much fizz, but it's not harsh, nicely padded by the decent body.

Good take on the porter/IBA trade-off here. Very drinkable and enjoyable, makes for a great session beer or a transition beer for dark ale skeptics. One to remember. (1,168 characters)